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Villarreal brass turn their attention to the goalkeeper situation. Atletico want €5m for Asenjo; we had been expecting that to cme down in the end since they might not want him as their #1 anyhow, but now there's word Mourinho is not going to let them have Courtois, so the negotations for Asenjo will be tighter:
Atletico want €5m for Asenjo/EPM
Also a rumor out there Atleti really want Kaylor Navas as their #1 keeper, and are willing to offer Asenjo to Levante, therefore, along with cash to make this happen. Unless there is some movement from the €5m figure, which seems unlikely, I doubt Asenjo will return--which is too bad.
Meanwhile, Andrés Fernandez, who we nearly signed last summer from Osasuna, will be available as a result of their relegation. He was great in 2012-13, not so much in 2013-14.
Word is we are looking to add a goalkeeper (possibly Asenjo) to partner with Juan Carlos; a fullback, a centerback, two midfielders (one for the pivote, one an attacker) and two strikers (one who might be more of a Gio type, I suppose, than a first striker).
Antonio Rukavina is now on the market, thinking of a defender we had some interest in last season; so too could be Marc Valiente.
As far as striker is concerned, Gerard Moreno will return to the team for certain, so could be one of those two additions mentioned above. He scored 11 goals in 30 matches for Mallorca, but when coach Oltra lost his job, Gerard saw less playing time, and a meniscus injury ended his season prematurely. He should be back to fitness in early July.
One player we apparently won't be going after is Tenerife's Ayoze Perez--word in the Canaries is Newcastle (EPL) will pay the €2m recission clause and sign him. Valencia were apparently interested but couldn't get it together.
A quick rundown of Mexicans abroad and how they fared this week: praise for Gio and Javier Aquino. Note that keeper Ochoa is looking for a new club: I'd put him pretty far down the list of our goalkeeper possibilities, but you never know.
B team exits: Edu Ramos has turned down a new contract, Jose Angel is being released, Espericueta's loan has ended and he is back in Mexico. Paco Lopez will be taking over the B team reins next year, after outstanding work with the C. And congrats to Javi Ramirez of the C, called up for the Spanish under-19 team today.
Endavant!